Lynn Police Chief Kevin Coppinger celebrates winning the Essex County Sheriff’s Democratic nomination earlier this month. Item File Photo
By Thomas Grillo
LYNN — If Police Chief Kevin Coppinger wins the race for Essex County Sheriff in November, there could be as many as seven candidates competing to fill the vacancy for top cop.
Among the chief candidates eligible to apply from the Lynn Police Department are deputy chiefs Leonard Desmarais and Michael Mageary, as well as captains Mark O’Toole, Christopher Reddy, Edward Blake, William Borders and Michael Vail.
Earlier this month, Coppinger secured the Democratic nomination for sheriff by handily beating five competitors. He will face off against Republican Peabody City Councilor Anne Manning-Martin and Independent candidates Mark Archer and Kevin Leach in November for the $152,000 post.
Coppinger, who has been chief since 2009, declined to comment on his potential replacement. He referred inquiries to Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy.
“I haven’t thought that far ahead,” said Kennedy. “I don’t know the procedure to be honest with you. The last time a police chief was appointed was before my time.”
Joseph Driscoll, the city’s personnel director, said the city’s practice for civil service hiring a chief has included a contract with MMA Consulting Group Inc. The Plymouth-based company provides a so-called Assessment Center comprised of an expert panel that interviews the candidates, asks their responses to real life situations, grades them and recommends the top three to the mayor, who makes the selection.
“In the past, the mayor has always selected the top-rated person,” Driscoll said.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police calls the Assessment Centers a powerful tool for making promotional decisions that use a series of simulated on-the-job challenges to gauge a candidate’s ability to perform. The simulations offer insight into a candidate’s strengths, weaknesses, and overall potential, the association said. The candidate’s performance is evaluated by trained assessors which provides information unattainable from written tests, interviews or any other source, according to the association. The panel is typically comprised of law enforcement officials who are on the job in other communities.
Coppinger won the Democratic primary with 10,375 votes or 28 percent of the vote while Manning-Martin received 4,261 votes in the Republican primary, besting four other candidates with 41 percent of the vote.
Thomas Grillo can be reached at [email protected].